Spotswood railway station explained

Spotswood
Type:PTV commuter rail station
Style:Melbourne
Address:Hope Street,
Spotswood, Victoria 3015
Borough:City of Hobsons Bay
Country:Australia
Coordinates:-37.8306°N 144.8858°W
Distance:9.22 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Line:
    Structure:Ground
    Platform:2 side
    Tracks:2
    Parking:15
    Bicycle:Yes
    Electrified:August 1920 (1500 V DC overhead)
    Accessible:Yes—step free access
    Code:SPT
    Owned:VicTrack
    Operator:Metro Trains
    Zone:Myki Zone 1
    Status:Operational, unstaffed
    Former:Edom (1878-1881)
    Bayswater (1881)
    Spottiswoode (1881-1905)
    Website:Public Transport Victoria
    Map State:expanded

    Spotswood railway station is located on the Werribee and Williamstown lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Spotswood, and opened on 1 December 1878 as Edom. It was renamed Bayswater on 1 September 1881, renamed Spottiswoode on 1 October of that year, and renamed Spotswood on 1 August 1905.[1] [2]

    History

    Spotswood station opened on 1 December 1878[1] and, like the suburb itself, was named after John Stewart Spottiswoode, a local resident who purchased land in the area in 1841.[3]

    Over the years, a number of sidings were provided to businesses in the area. In 1914, a branch line was opened at the down end of the station to the Newport Power Station, in addition to a number of other sidings serving oil terminals in the area. A siding at the up end of the station served the Australian Glass Manufacturers factory, and was used by sand trains from Koala Siding (near Nyora on the South Gippsland line). On 15 January 1998, the last sand train operated.[4]

    In 1972, both platforms received extensions.[5] In 1988, a number of points and dwarf signals at the station were abolished.[1] In 1989, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Hudson Road level crossing, located at the up end of the station.[2]

    In 1994, a number of alterations occurred at the station, including the removal of a crossover at the down end, as well as the overhead wire for siding "K", the connections for siding "K" and the oil sidings, and a number of points and signals.[1]

    A disused signal box is at the up end of Platform 1. It was decommissioned on 12 August 2001,[6] along with the removal of the crossover at the up end, a number of dwarf signals and a siding.[2] In 2007, the remains of some sidings that ran along public roads in the area were removed by Hobsons Bay Council.[2]

    On 26 October 2022, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the level crossing will be grade separated by 2030, with the railway line likely to be rebuilt over the road, and will include a rebuilt station.[7] [8]

    Platforms and services

    Spotswood has two side platforms. It is served by Werribee and Williamstown line trains.[9] [10]

    Platform 1:

    Platform 2:

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Spotswood. vicsig.net. 14 February 2023. 14 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191214125452/https://vicsig.net/infrastructure/location/Spotswood. live.
    2. Web site: Spotswood Station. Rail Geelong. 14 February 2023. 9 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230209065401/https://www.railgeelong.com/location/spotswood/. live.
    3. Web site: Spotswood. Victorian Places. 28 December 2022. 28 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221228120554/https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/spotswood. live.
    4. February 1998. Farewell - The Sand Train. Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. 71–76.
    5. July 1972. Way and Works. Divisional Diary. Australian Railway Historical Society. 6.
    6. November 2001. Signalling Alterations. Somersault. Signalling Record Society (Victoria). 94.
    7. Web site: Making The Werribee Line Level Crossing Free Premier of Victoria . 2022-10-31 . www.premier.vic.gov.au . en . 25 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221025232033/https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/making-werribee-line-level-crossing-free . live .
    8. Web site: 2022-10-27 . Making the Werribee Line level crossing-free . 2022-10-31 . Victoria’s Big Build . en . 31 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031121718/https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/news/level-crossing-removal-project/making-the-werribee-line-level-crossing-free . live .
    9. train.
    10. train.